With an aim to fast-track the bilateral trade pact process, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said details of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US will be announced once Washington offers India preferential terms over its competitors. In February, India and the US announced the finalisation of the framework for the first phase of the trade pact. However, changes in the US tariff landscape have led to further negotiations between the two countries. The US imposed an additional 10 per cent tariff on several countries, including India, from July 24.
Goyal is scheduled to visit the US in late September to attend the G20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee and hold bilateral talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Issues related to the trade pact are expected to be discussed during the meetings. The two-day ministerial will begin on September 30. The US holds the G20 presidency in 2026.
Countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia are major competitors of India in the US market. A tariff advantage over these countries would improve the price competitiveness of Indian goods in the American market. India exported goods worth about $87 billion to the US in 2025-26.
Goyal further said that India’s nine free trade agreements (FTAs), covering economies with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $60 trillion, would provide preferential access to nearly two-thirds of global trade. He said the other FTAs that India is expected to conclude over the next few months and years - including with Canada, Mexico, Chile, Mercosur, SACU (Southern African Customs Union), GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and Israel - along with efforts to review existing trade deals with ASEAN, South Korea and Japan, would give India access to 75 per cent of global trade at tariff rates lower than those faced by its competitors. India has already implemented trade pacts with the UK, Mauritius, Oman, the UAE and Australia.
